MARKUS PROMBERGER, HARTMUT SEIFERT and RAINER TRINCZEK
In 1993, an innovative working time agreement was achieved at the Volkswagen (VW) Company. Its major aim was to save 30,000 jobs in VW's six German plants, which were endangered…
Abstract
In 1993, an innovative working time agreement was achieved at the Volkswagen (VW) Company. Its major aim was to save 30,000 jobs in VW's six German plants, which were endangered because of a severe crisis of the car manufacturer. The 2‐year agreement included as its major point a reduction of the weekly working hours by 20% to 28.8 hours/week without complete financial compensation for the employees. In the years following, the original agreement was renewed and amended several times whereby the amendments mainly included a considerable flexibility of the working time structures at Volkswagen. This paper discusses the different agreements and presents some findings of a representative empirical study among the VW employees about the effects of the 28.8‐hour per week agreement. Finally, the question will be answered whether the VW model could serve as a general model to redistribute an existing volume of work among more employees in order to reduce unemployment.
Qi Yao, Zhangjian Wu and Wenkai Zhou
The research aims to explore the interaction effect of consumer social class and service type on consumers' preference for robot services, as well as the mediating role of risk…
Abstract
Purpose
The research aims to explore the interaction effect of consumer social class and service type on consumers' preference for robot services, as well as the mediating role of risk aversion in this interaction effect.
Design/methodology/approach
Experiment 1 is a field experiment with service type being the independent variable. The participants were divided into two groups based on the services they received (diagnostic dental services vs. hotel room services). 93 consumers participated voluntarily in the blind experiment and were asked if they would choose to allow a robot to perform the focal services. Experiment 2 employs a 2 × 2 factorial design: personal fitness trainer services at the gym vs wait staff services in a casual dining restaurant × higher- vs lower-social class, with 196 participants.
Findings
Results from the two experiments show that participants in the higher-social classes were more willing than participants in the lower-social classes to choose robot services in credence-based service settings. More significantly, risk aversion mediated the interaction effect of social class and service type on participants' preference for robot services.
Originality/value
Based on the credence-experience typology, this research is the first to discuss the weight of social class in consumer decision-making regarding preference for different types of robot services. Furthermore, by extending risk aversion to the robot services field, the current research sheds new light on this underlying mechanism that can inform future studies.